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The NFL is currently littered with bright, young offensive minds for Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys to potentially hire for vacant head coaching role. There’s Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Lions OC Ben Johnson, Buccaneers OC Liam Coen or even, if you turn your head and squint a little bit, Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore.
Moore, who spent seven seasons in Dallas first as a backup quarterback, then a quarterbacks coach and eventually an offensive coordinator, was considered the hot favorite to land the job. But now things have changed. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talks reports that Brian Schottenheimer is the new betting favorite for the job.
Scottenheimer, the son of legendary head coach Marty Schottenheimer, served as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator each of the past two seasons. He previously served in the same role for the (then) St. Louis Rams, New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks. But Schottenheimer, 51, never became much of a true head coaching candidate.
That’s because, frankly, he just wasn’t very good at his job.
Brian Schottenheimer’s NFL History Isn’t A Good Look For The Dallas Cowboys
Schottenheimer’s offense ranked fifth in yards per game and first in points per game a year ago. Those are objectively good measures. But Dallas routinely beat up on bad teams only to look lost against the league’s top defenses.
In 14 seasons as an offensive coordinator in the league, Schottenheimer has ranked top 10 in yards per game just twice. He’s ranked in the top 10 in scoring offense five times, but only once did he rank in the top five. Simply put, Schottenheimer has not proven to be a very good offensive mind at the NFL level.
But there is one reason the move would make sense. It’s simple. Schottenheimer knows the Jones family and vice versa. It would allow the Cowboys to keep the status quo, and as a first-time head coach he’s unlikely to challenge Jerry Jones on anything.
It is, perhaps, the most possible Dallas Cowboys move. So maybe the betting markets are onto something.